Shahid Afridi Wants Son-In-Law Shaheen Afridi Out Of Pakistan Team

Shahid Afridi Wants Son-In-Law Shaheen Afridi Out Of Pakistan Team (Source: AP/PCB)

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi wants son-in-law Shaheen Afridi and all-rounder Shadab Khan rested for the fifth T20I against New Zealand. Pakistan have already lost the series after losing three out of the four games and will be playing for pride in the final game. The team had disappointing outings in all matches barring the third T20I where they chased 205 with nine wickets to spare. Other than that, the Men in Green could only muster 92, 135, and 105 in the first, second, and fourth T20I respectively.

Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan have also looked off-colour in the series, taking four and one respectively in four games.

Taking to X, Shahid Afridi wrote, "For the final game, the players on the bench should be given a chance - with the series lost, Shadab and Shaheen can be rested and replacements given an opportunity."

Meanwhile, Pakistan rested Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the T20I series and the team immediately felt the need of two stable batters in the lineup. It will be interesting to see if Pakistan fall back on their senior players after a shambolic show in the T20I series. Both Babar and Rizwan were picked in the squad for ODI sereis.

New Zealand Announce Squad For ODI Series Meanwhile, the teams will also clash in a three-match ODI series following the T20Is. New Zealand recently named the squad for the ODIs and handed over the leadership reins to Tom Latham. Top-order batter Nick Kelly, who scored 749 runs in the Plunket Shield including four centuries, and Muhammad Abbas who scored 340 runs in the one-day tournament Ford Trophy, earned a maiden call-up. A total of eight players who were part of the Champions Trophy squad were picked for the Pakistan series. A few senior players were missing due to their IPL commitment.

New Zealand ODI Squad For Pakistan Series: Tom Latham (c), Muhammad Abbas, Adi Ashok, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Mitch Hay, Nick Kelly, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Will Young

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